Men's Basketball

Gauchos Open Great Alaska Shootout vs. Washington State

Jul 21, 2014

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara basketball team will open its first-ever Great Alaska Shootout on Thanksgiving night, Thursday, Nov. 27, against Washington State of the Pac 12, it was announced last week. All of the games will be aired on CBS Sports Network.

"We're excited to play a Pac 12 opponent at a neutral site," said Gauchos' head coach Bob Williams. "The Great Alaska Shootout has a great tradition and we are really looking forward to being a part of it."

In the second game of the tournament, UCSB will play either Rice or Mercer, and on the final day the opponent will be either Alaska Anchorage, Pacific, Missouri State or Colorado State.

There are three other first round match-ups in the Shooutout. Pacific and Alaska Anchorage will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 26, as will Colorado State and Missouri State. Mercer, which defeated Duke in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, will play Rice in the other Thanksgiving Day game.

With Washington State now on the schedule, the Gauchos will play three games against Pac 12 opponents. They will travel to Oregon on Dec. 22 and Oregon State on Dec. 30.

The 2014-15 season will open with a lengthy road trip for games at Kansas (Nov. 14) and Florida-Gulf Coast (Nov. 17) before UCSB plays The Master's College in its regular season home opener on Saturday, Nov. 22.